A few thoughts from Doug Logan, Zone Assistant Coordinator for Membership, about LeadershipOver the years, I’ve seen many problematic approaches to Rotary leadership.
- People who think they have to do everything, or believe that if they don’t do it themselves it won’t get done properly. Too many of these people burn themselves out, walk away and leave a vacuum with no one to take over from them because they’d always done it all.
- Those who delegate (or do nothing), handing off all important tasks to others. Too many succeed at accomplishing very little, creating confusion and uncertainty because they don’t provide direction and support.
- Others who feel the need for control and insist that everything must be done their way. Often, these people’s focus on doing what they think is right means that they miss the opportunity to do the right thing. Worse, they can crush innovation and initiative.
- Laissez-faire leaders who leave everyone alone to do as they wish, resulting in confusion and lack of direction.
And leaders who think that it is all about themselves and satisfying their own ego needs, meaning that what gets done tends to be good for them – but not necessarily Rotary.
Of course, we all have our own personalities and preferred leadership styles. Even so, our responsibility as leaders is to set the above inclinations aside and put Rotary first. We must ensure the right things get done to help us continue to move forward and grow. What we should be most concerned about is building teams of people who share our motivation to serve; engaging them to build collaborative plans of action; assigning them tasks that match their skills and interests; supporting them as unique individuals; holding them accountable and then trusting that they will do all they can to help Rotary thrive.